It's Marketing Monday and time to bring one of Scott Bourne's posts out of the archives. Although Scott shared this at least four years ago, it's still a perfect reminder to help you get through those times when you have to improvise.

You can complain because roses have thorns,or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.Ziggy

As photographers, regardless of how long you've been shooting, you've witnessed first-hand things don't always work out the way they should. Murphy's Law seems to prevail all too often, but you've hopefully adapted and anticipate something is going to happen that wasn't in the plan.

Too often, some of you freeze. You panic, maybe even give up. You just haven't had enough experience yet to stay focused and keep things going. Even more difficult is not having the skill set to handle the challenge, but you're not stuck on the escalator!

While Scott is talking mostly about shooting challenges - the same alternatives apply to your marketing and business plans. There's always an alternative and very rarely is anything cast in stone. The problem is keeping an open mind, utilizing support from key people in your network when you hit a wall and never giving up your optimism. There's always a solution, and this quote from Scott says it all:

"Whatever, whenever, professionals get paid to make the shot, not complain about their circumstances. If they need better light or backgrounds for instance – they just make it."

So You're Out Shooting and Everything Looks like a Lemon!

by Scott Bourne

You want to shoot but you’re out of your element. Maybe you’re on vacation with the family and for some reason they don’t want to schedule everything around sunrise or sunset. Or maybe you’re on a quick business trip and the ugly, cheap hotel your boss made you stay in doesn’t exactly trip your trigger. It is easy to find yourself in situations that don’t make it easy. You are on the road, but you don’t have the circumstances you need to make a great shot. So change the circumstances.

As professional photographers you understand this all too well. The bride wants to get married when the sun is straight up overhead at noon. The location director thinks the “cool” brick wall would make a great backdrop. Whatever, whenever, professionals get paid to make the shot, not complain about their circumstances. If they need better light or backgrounds for instance – they just make it.

The challenge just requires a positive attitude, some creativity and a willingness to work a bit harder.

When you're just heading out to shoot and there's no client involved, if you’re somewhere that simply offers nothing exciting to shoot, try switching to macro. Give me any city in America and a one block radius to work in town and I can find hundreds of macro shots. Everything from textures, to insects to flowers – you name it.

Here’s another idea – learn how to improve lighting using “subtractive” lighting. Instead of adding light to a scene that needs fill, subtract it from any two sides – which automatically makes the open area away from those two sides the new main light source.

Plan ahead and do a meetup – try to convince a model who needs portfolio shots to come down and pose for you or a bunch of other photographers to liven things up.

Try renting or borrowing new gear to give you a new approach.

I’ve been shooting a long time, in all sorts of locations, under all sorts of weather, and in all sorts of light. I’ve very rarely been completely shut out. All it takes is a new way of thinking and you can succeed.

Wow! My daughter and I photograph together. At a recent elopement shoot, on a remote Scottish beach with uncertain weather, the ceremony began. Suddenly, the wind grew stronger, the heavens opened and despite being summer, the couple were deluged and pelted by large hailstones. It was impossible to keep their eyes open and rivulets of mascara ran down the bride’s cheeks. The registrar kindly invited us back to her house for signing the wedding schedule. We were all sodden. The house was extremely cluttered. However, using cropping, westcott ice lights and backlighting in a tiny, shower with lights off, we shot on as creatively as possible in the circumstances.
No, we didn’t complain to the clients though we felt deeply for their discomfort (we did have a wee complain to each other on the torrential walk back!). Now we can laugh absolutely it!

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"Why?"

Check out"Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog.It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're coming up on 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

Authors

Skip Cohen is President of SCU, founder of Marketing Essentials International and past president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. He's been an active participant in the photographic industry since joining Hasselblad USA in 1987 as president. He has co-authored six books on photography and actively supports dozens of projects each year involving photographic education.

Scott Bourne

Scott Bourne was the first Dean of Marketing at SCU. He helped to establish this blog as a resource for aspiring and working professional photographers. He's an educator, artist, author and from time to time you'll see his name on guest posts that are always relevant to photography and marketing!